I am looking at buying a 1987 F-150 4x4 w/4.9l and manual transmission.

I noticed the trans is leaking fluid, and when inspecting closer found the two bolts that secure the rear of the trans to the top of the cross member spacer are missing. The bolts that hold the spacer to the crossmember are there, but the trans is basically loose from the cross member.

1. Would this cause the trans to leak fluid? I wasn't sure where it was leaking from. There was trans fluid all over the trans.

2. The dude has been driving it this way and do you see this causing any serious damage to the driveline by him doing so?

Definitely towards the front. Did not appear to be any leaking from the tail. It also looked like somebody had tried to seal the front of the trans with some sort of putty in the past without much success.

Yeah probably means it has been leaking for awhile. I would question why they wouldn't have the brains to put a couple bolts back in the mount? Was the mount broke or just missing the bolts? Was the engine and trans removed ?

4.9L is a great reliable motor lots of torque not too many RPM's or HP but works well and gets decent MPG. They are a dime a dozen though so don't go out on a limb with this questionable one unless you can get some clearer answers.